Decision details

1.    To approve the proposed budget variations to the capital programme totalling £12.45m (summarised in Table 1 and detailed in Appendix 2).

2.    To approve a budget virement of £100,000 from the Corporate Planned Maintenance Programme to the Column Replacement programme reported within the Environment Department.

3.    To establish a disposals programme that will enable reserves to be maintained and reduce reliance on additional borrowing.

4.    To note the proposed change in the Minimum Revenue Payment (MRP) rate from 3.24% to 3.01% and that this will reduce the charge against revenue budgets by approximately £200,000 over the next 4 years.

5.    To note that the recent government decision to increase the PWLB rate (the rate at which local authorities can borrow from the government) by 1% will potentially increase the Council’s borrowing costs by £1.38m per year by 2022/23 and by £69m over a 50-year loan period.

6.    To note the potential risks regarding the Housing Capital Programme, as summarised in section 5 of the report.